THE Education Secretary said today she will “look at” Plan B student loans as the National Union of Students demanded she “scrap above inflation interest rates, unfreeze thresholds, and cap interest to make the student loan system work for graduates.”

While refusing to commit to changing the system, Bridget Phillipson admitted a “fairer” arrangement was needed for former students.

But when the former home secretary was asked whether graduates would have their financial burden eased, she warned that her government was faced with “a question of priorities.”

NUS president Amira Campbell hit back at the Education Secretary’s comments, calling for urgent action to alleviate the burden of loans on graduates.

“We need a serious review of student loans for current students,” she said. “But for Plan 2 graduates, the call is clear.

“Scrap above inflation interest rates, unfreeze repayment thresholds and cap interest to make the system work for graduates.

“We followed their advice; we invested in our futures, but now we are drowning in a debt that we were signed onto before we could buy a pint.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s November budget froze the salary threshold for when loan repayments begin, prompting widespread calls to review the entire system, which would force graduates to pay more as inflation rises.

Under Plan B, recipients must start paying back their debt once they earn at least £29,385, with interest on the loans charged at the retail prices index (RPI) inflation rate plus up to 3 per cent, based on income.

Speaking to BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Phillipson was asked if she would change the system.

“I will look at it, of course I will,” she answered. 

But she offered a murkier response to the question on Sky News’ Sunday Morning Trevor Phillips, saying the government faced a set of “priorities” and “given the shape of what we have in the public finances this is really hard.”

The NUS also responded to the statements from shadow education secretary Laura Trott to defund certain university courses.

Its president, Ms Campbell, said: “The brilliant thing about university in the UK is that there is truly a degree for everyone. 

“From the graphics on our screens to the music through the radio, creative degrees bring colour and life to our society and should firmly remain on campus.”